The Resin-bees 



brings this thought; the school which sees in 

 instinct an acquired habit treats the slightest 

 favourable occurrence in the course of the 

 animal's industry as the starting-point of an 

 improvement which, transmitted by heredity 

 and becoming in time more and more accentu- 

 ated, at last grows into a settled characteristic 

 common to the whole race. There is, it is 

 true, a total absence of positive proofs in sup- 

 port of this theory; but it is stated with a 

 wealth of hypothesis that leaves a thousand 

 loopholes: "Granting that . . . Supposing 

 that ... It may be . . . Nothing need 

 prevent us from believing . . . It is quite 

 possible ..." Thus argued the master; 

 and the disciples have not yet hit upon any- 

 thing better. 



"If the sky were to fall," said Rabelais, 

 "the larks would all be caught." 



Yes, but the sky stays up; and the larks go 

 on flymg. 



"If things happened in such and such a 

 way," says our friend, "instinct may have un- 

 dergone variations and modifications," 



Yes, but are you quite sure that things hap- 

 pened as you say? 



I banish the word "If from my vocabu- 



319 



